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California fin-lit education bill passes Assembly

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (9/2/08)--The California State Assembly approved a California Credit Union League-supported bill Thursday that would require financial literacy instruction to be a part of future school curriculum development. Assembly Bill 1502 was introduced by assembly member Ted Lieu (D-Torrance). The bill requires the State Board of Education and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission to make sure that information about financial literacy is included in appropriate subject-area frameworks (US Fed News Aug. 28). “The league has been an active supporter of the bill,” Keri Bailey, league director of state government affairs, told News Now. “It will be transmitted to the governor within the next week or so. The governor will have 30 days--roughly until the end of September--to sign or veto the measure. Bailey said the league anticipates continuing its support. “For credit unions, financial literacy is a very important part of our mission to serve the communities and our members. So we are really looking forward to continuing our dialogue with the governor. We are hopeful we can get this bill signed,” she added. Three states--Missouri, Tennessee and Utah--mandate at least a one-semester course on personal finance, according to the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. At least 15 other states require personal financial instruction to be integrated into the existing curriculum.